Packaging cardboard for garment



April 2 8, 1959 H. D. ABBEY v PACKAGING CARDBOARD FOR GARMENT Filed Nov. 19, 1954 INVENTOR.

HYMA/V D. ABBEYl A 770,218/5 YS United States Patent PACKAGING CARDBOARD FOR GARMENT Hyman D. Abbey, New York, N .Y. Application November 19, I1954, Serial No. 470,012 2 Claims. (Cl. 20G-46) This invention relates to the packaging of garments, especially garments which are rather light in weight and difficult to hold in shape, such as ladies sweaters and blouses, and more particularly to an improved packaging cardboard for the same.

Sweaters have -been folded and placed in a at rectangular box, but in the course of shipping and handling it is found that they do not hold their position, and instead shift and wrinkle in the box. A similar situation arises with a more recent type of packaging using transparent envelopes. In an effort to overcome the diculty a rectangular cardboard has been used about which the sweater is folded before being placed in a box or envelope, but shifting and wrinkling take place even when using such a cardboard.

The primary object of the erally improve the packaging of garments, particularly light weight ladies sweaters, In accordance with my invention a special cardboard is made which employs not only a rectangular tbody portion but also a horizontal portion connected to the body portion by means of a short rectangular neck portion. The horizontal portion is folded downwardly over the upper part of the body portion. It there lies at and acts as a hanger. No part ofthe form is curled to curved or circular shape to act as a collar support, as is already known with cardboard forms used by laundries for mens shirts.

In accordance with a further feature and object of the invention, the lower edge of the horizontal portion is cut away upwardly to expose the label of the sweater, which is customarily sewn to the back of the sweater below the neck opening. This is a -great convenience in merchandising the sweater, which need not be removed from the packaging cardboard. Indeed the folded sweater may be sheathed in a transparent envelope, in which case the label is read through the envelope.

A further object of the invention is to speed up the folding of the garment, and it is found that the present improved packaging cardboard is quickly and easily applied to the sweater, the latter ybeing readily folded about the cardboard when the horizontal portion has been inserted in the shoulder portions of the garment.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the packaging cardboard, and its relation to the garment, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specication is accompanied by a drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a plan View of the blank from which the packaging cardboard is made;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the packaging cardboard;

Fig. 3 is an edge View of the same;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing a sweater supported by the packaging cardboard, with the resulting assembly placed in the lower half of a cardboard box; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken approximately in the plane of tile line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and drawn to enlarged scale.

present invention is to -geny Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. l, the blank is a unitary piece of cardboard. It comprises a rectangular body portion 12 and a short rectangular neck portion 14 disposed above the top edge 16 of the body portion. There is also a horizontal portion 18 which has a length slightly less than the width of the body portion 12. This horizontal portion is collateral of the top edge of the body portion.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, the neck portion 14 is turned transversely of the body portion 12, and the horizontal portion 18 is turned downward in front of the body portion 12. lIt will be noted that the bottom edge 20 of the horizontal portion is cut away upwardly. The top edge 22 of the horizontal portion is preferably straight and 'generally parallel to the top edge 16 of the body portion 12, but, of course, the ends of the horizontal portion may be and preferably are rounded, as shown at 24.

The garment, in this case a light weight ladys sweater, is packaged as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing. The ends of horizontal portion 18 are inserted in the shoulder portions of the garment 3G, and both the front and backof the garment are disposed in front of the rectangular body portion 12 of the cardboard. The upward curve 20 of the horizontal portion exposes the label 32 of the sweater 30, this `being the conventional label sewed to the back of the garment beneath the neck opening. The sleeve and side portions of the garment are folded behind the body portion `12 of the cardboard, and the lower end of the garment is folded upwardly beneath the body portion. With the garment supported in this way it is readily placed in a thin ilat rectanuglar box 40 of conventional size for the purpose, or it may-be slid into a transparent envelope madeof cellophane or other packagingflm. In the case of more costly sweaters it may be sheathed in a transparent envelope and packaged in a box. In any case the present packaging cardboard holds the sweater against shifting and wrinkling, and it need not be removed during merchandising of the sweater, for the label 32 is visible beneath the hanger.

The neck portion 14 has been described as being very short. It may be reduced to substantialy zero, but I nd it more convenient to have some length, say M1 of neck portion, in order to allow for the thickness of the garment material and to facilitate applying the garment to the cardboard, or vice versa.

The sweater and cardboard may be assembled in a number of different ways. For example, the sweater may be spread ilat in inverted condition; the ends of the hanger may be slid into the shoulder portions with the blank flat as shown in Fig. 1, but inverted from top to bottom; the rectangular portion 12 may then be folded upwardly and in over the back of the sweater, following which the sleeves and side edges may be turned upwardly and inwardly and the bottom turned upwardly and inwardly.

Another procedure is to spread the sweater ilat and lrightside up; to then insert the ends of the hanger in the shoulder portions, with the blank flat, and inverted top for bottom; to then fold the body portion of the blank downwardly lbehind the back of the sweater, following which the sleeves and side portions are folded downwardly and inwardly beneath the cardboard, and the bottom portion is folded downwardly and then upwardly beneath the cardboard. This procedure is the same as that first described except that the sweater has its front side on top instead of on bottom.

In another procedure the blank is preliminarily folded as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The shoulder portions of the sweater are applied to the ends of the hanger, with the sweater rightside up. The sleeves and side portions are then folded downwardly and sidewardly beneath the cardboard, and the lower end of the sweater is folded downwardly and upwardly beneath the cardboard.

These and other methods may be followed, but in substantially all methods the improved cardboard will be found to speed up rather than to slow down the folding of the garment, this being so because of the support of the garment provided by the hanger portion.

While I have shown a single sweater disposed in a box, it will be understood that, if desired, a number of sweaters, each with its own backing card, may be packed in superposed relation and shippedin a single box of greater height. It will also be seen from inspection of the drawing that the box is preferably so dimensioned as to lit closely about the folded sweater. This holds the sweater in its initially folded position. Of course, if the sweaters are put in transparent envelopes and boxed, the close t of the box could be unimportant, for the envelopes would provide the close lit.

=It is believed the method of constructing and using my improved packaging cardboard, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be dened in the following claims.

I claim:

l. In combination, a garment having sleeves and shoulders, particularly a light-weight sweater or blouse, and a unitary packaging cardboard for supporting the same, said cardboard comprising a generally rectangular body portion which is much narrower than the width of the garment, a short neck portion projecting upwardly from the top edge of the body portion, a hanger portion depending from the neck portion and disposed over the upper part of the body portion, said hanger portion having a length substantially equal to the width of the body portion, said neck and hanger portions being the sole parts of said cardboard connected to the top edge of the body portion, the shoulders of said garment receiving the ends of said hanger por- Cil lcion, with the front and back of the garment in front of the body portion of the cardboard, the sleeve and side portions of said garment being folded behind the body portion of said cardboard, and the lower end of the garment being folded upwardly behind the body portion of said cardboard, whereby said garment is held from shifting or wrinkling when placed in a box or transparent envelope of appropriate dimension.

2. In combination, a garment having sleeves and shoulders with a neck opening therebetween and having a label secured inside the back below the neck opening, particularly a light-weight ladys sweater or blouse, and a unitary packaging cardboard for supporting said garment, said cardboard comprising a generally rectangular body portion which is much narrower than the width of the garment, a short neck portion projecting upwardly from the top edge of the body portion, a hanger portion depending from the neck portion and disposed over the upper part of the body portion, said hanger por-tion having a length substantially equal to the width of the body portion, said neck and hanger portions being the sole parts of said cardboard connected to the top edge of the body portion, the shoulders'of said garment receiving the ends of said hanger portion, with the front and back of the garment in front of the body portion of the cardboard, the bottom edge of the hanger portion being cut away upwardly to expose said label, the sleeve and side portions of said garment being folded behind the body portion of said cardboard, and the lower end of the garment being folded upwardly behind the body portion of said cardboard, whereby said garment is held from shifting or wrinkling when placed in a box or transparent envelope of appropriate dimension.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

